Review -Flashdance
October 21, 2008
Venue: Sunderland Empire
Date Reviewed: 20th October, 2008
It is very unusual in musical theatre for the person making the most impact on the show to not be on stage, but that is the case with Flashdance The Musical. In this screen to stage adaptation the choreography, by Arlene Phillips, stands head and shoulders above anything else. It appears as if the cast are drilled within inches of their lives and it shows, as the chorus numbers are thankfully what make this show watchable.
To be honest I have never seen the film so I have nothing to compare the stage version too, therefore any changes from the film were unnoticed and I took on face value the story that was being presented.
The story which is set in Pittsburg, has the central character of Alex (Victoria Hamilton-Barritt), a welder by day and dancer by night. Her mother (Bernie Nolan) makes her costumes and her friend, Jimmy (Bruno Langley from Coronation Street) who she has known since they were at school, has recently come out of prison. But try as he might he cannot escape his bad ways.
At the mill where Alex works, the owner has employed his nephew Nick (Noel Sullivan from pop group Hear Say) who is immediately attracted to Alex. Unfortunately there never seemed any real chemistry between the leads at anytime, which would have made the relationship work.
The sub plots, involve Alex trying to join a dancing school, the mill being closed down with the loss of many jobs and fighting between the rival nightclubs where Alex and the other girls dance.
But when Jimmy holds up the shop where Alex’s mum works, with tragic results, it is not a shock. In fact what happens to any of the characters does not seem to matter, as they do not connect with the audience at any time. Likewise several of the scenes do not seem to have a natural end, they just seem to suddenly finish, unsatisfactorily.
There is no doubting the audience are ready to party from the start but with both songs Gloria and What a Feeling well into the second act they are kept waiting over two hours for any sort of audience participation. Apart from the aforementioned well known songs, the numbers are instantly forgettable and only “You’re Not Done” a duo between Alex and her Mother has any real depth to it, but even that seems as if it is not allowed to come to a natural close.
All the main actors do a competent job with the material they have, but it is not enough to lift this show or have their characters connect with the audience.
The set and costume designs by Paul Farnsworth are very effective and the production values cannot fail to impress, but the book , by Tom Hedley and Robert Cary, just does not work.
Arlene Phillips dance routines do give you something to watch though and while they are excellent it is not enough to make this show a must see production, which is sad as Flashdance promised so much, but delivered so little.
John Dixon
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